Schools minister to look into issues Year 6 SATs exams have been too tough
The colleges minister has stated he’ll look into issues that final week’s SATs exams have been too tough after claims {that a} paper left some Year 6 pupils in “tears”.
Nick Gibb stated he doesn’t need the assessments, that are taken by 10 and 11-year-olds in England, to be “too hard” as that’s “not the purpose” of the evaluation.
It comes after a flood of complaints from mother and father and lecturers about final week’s studying examination, with a union saying even workers struggled “to understand the questions”.
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When requested about issues over the issue of assessments, Mr Gibb stated he had not seen the paper but however would take a look at it when it turns into out there subsequent week.
He added: “The Standards and Testing Agency have tested this test before in tests before the pandemic, they tested it last year with a large group of children, they monitored the response of those children to the test, to the questions, they found that 85% enjoy taking the test.
“But we’ll take a look at this. I’ll definitely take a look at this as a result of I do know that there was issues expressed by some colleges.”
SATs, or Standard Assessment Tests, are used to measure kids’s English and maths abilities in Year 2 and Year 6 and include six 45-minute papers.
The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) has expressed issues over final week’s studying paper and stated it plans to lift the problem with exams regulator Ofqual and the Standards and Testing Agency.
Sarah Hannafin, the union’s head of coverage, stated members had reported that the issue of the studying paper “was beyond previous tests”, left kids upset, and a few workers struggled to grasp the questions.
Kerry Forrester, a headteacher at a Cheshire main college, expressed concern in regards to the “negative impact” of the SATs exams on the “mental health” of her pupils and she or he stated some have been decreased to tears.
Last Friday, the Department for Education defended the assessments, saying they’re “designed to be challenging” to measure attainment throughout the power vary.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Mr Gibb stated the exams do have to check “a range of ability” to point out what quantity of kids are exceeding the usual.
“But we don’t want these tests to be too hard for children. That’s not the purpose,” he added.
Geoff Barton, common secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), welcomed the minister’s dedication to take a look at unions’ issues.
He added: “We’ve received a lot of feedback that this paper was unnecessarily difficult and that it left children distressed and teachers very anxious about the impact on their pupils.
“Key Stage 2 assessments aren’t alleged to be some kind of gruelling ceremony of passage, however an accountability measure to test on attainment on the finish of Key Stage 2.”